Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Providence Capital Advisors LLC

Providence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 142 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 5,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,388,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 8,951 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.16, for a total transaction of $5,166,159.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 51,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,776,261.56. The trade was a 14.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.00, for a total transaction of $407,167.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,901,598. This trade represents a 17.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,239 shares of company stock valued at $59,681,541. Insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $652.00 to $641.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.71.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $569.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $574.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $526.33. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $313.66 and a 1 year high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.19 by $0.84. The company had revenue of $40.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.21 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 35.60% and a net margin of 35.55%. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.42%.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.